While I am an admittedly gorgeous individual (I’m not joking, sorry, LOVE YOURSELVES PEOPLE) who cannot pass a reflective surface without vogueing to a soundtrack by Robyn, there are mornings I wake up literally clawing my face in no-longer-repressed self-loathing and anxiety. Queen of Repression right here! I like to only remember good things, like visits to Dover Street Market and the smell of money. However, there are obviously days where you have to look and the mirror and don’t like what you see. Things that won’t go away — like scarring, acne, or the horrifying and imminent sense of impending failure. While I cannot help with the last one, I can definitely assist with the other two. Here are some things that help beat back the crap.

When it comes to acne, there are essentially four kinds of acne treatments on the shelves right now: Sulfur, Benzoyl Peroxide, Salicylic Acid, and retinoids. Most of the drugstore options you’ll see are Salicylic Acid or Benzoyl Peroxide. You’ve probably tried salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide spot treatments or acne washes and found them ineffective. This is what you’re going to try instead.

I test out dozens of products a month (no joke), and this means madness to my skin. Acne for ages! This is the only drugstore product that really made a difference, since it has a little more Benzoyl Peroxide than other products. The bumps of acne (great visual, right?) go down very quickly with just a dot of this, gone as fast as they came… much like your last Tinder date.

FOR SCARRING

Popular skincare knowledge dictates you’re supposed to exfoliate three times a week. The first thing to keep in mind is that everything you are ever taught about skincare is a LIE. I’m just being hyperbolic, but truly, every person has different skin, and therefore different needs in how to treat them. Exfoliation daily can be beneficial to you if you are using the correct products. AHA/BHA exfoliants can be used daily to softly slough the surface of the skin, reduce redness, and fade discolorations.

You want to use this every day. Keep it on for a few minutes, if you can, that way the BHA properties can actually do their job. It doesn’t make much sense to slap it on just to pour it down the drain a minute later.

Facials have always felt too rich for my blood. Considering I was basically raised on TV dinners and couponing, that sort of luxury always seemed out of reach. I think, in the end, they are worth the investment, especially at the Mario Badescu Salon. I’d basically given up on having good skin again after an ugly turn with the Clarisonic. My facialist ordered me to use this every day for a week and the results? Pretty inspiring. My scars are much less evident, and trust me, I looked like a weird beige meatball before the fact. A must have.

Moisture

This is a shout out to all my eczema babies out there: I hear your pain. Especially when you’re combating both acne and dryness, skin can get even more inflamed. Not a good look. After treating your skin to the gauntlet of masks, serums, spot treatments and such you may like to use, I think it’s time to truly treat it to a nice bath in goodness. Consider the following.